


Red Lions

by Aurone



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, JuLance Challenge 2020, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:15:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25346047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurone/pseuds/Aurone
Summary: When you bond with your soulmate, you have to spend the first 24 hours in skin to skin contact.  If you lose contact, then you both experience unimaginable pain. After the first 24 hours, you can be some distance apart starting with a few meters and then increasing over time, but if you get too far apart the pain returns.  You can also feel the physical pain and emotions of your soulmate.  If you or your soulmate dies the other follows.Keith and Lance find out that they are soulmates at the most inopportune time and it may cost them everything.My contribution to Julance 2020 Day 17:  Keith and Lance
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 105
Collections: Bonded to You





	1. Saving Keith

**Author's Note:**

> TW: One of the paladins gets hurt in this chapter and there is some description of the wound and of blood. 
> 
> This is my contribution to Julance Day 17: Keith and Lance.

#### Beginning Notes:

In this soulmate AU, when the youngest of a soulmate pair turns sixteen both of the pair get a mark or tattoo on their left wrist. When it appears it is a black outline when you bond to your soulmate it becomes colored. If your soulmate dies before you bond it becomes all gray. When you bond with your soulmate, you have to spend the first 24 hours in skin to skin contact. If you lose contact, then you both experience unimaginable pain. After the first 24 hours, you can be some distance apart starting with a few meters and then increasing over time, but if you get too far apart the pain returns. You can also feel the physical pain and emotions of your soulmate. If you or your soulmate dies the other follows.

The bond is formed through physical contact. You have to touch skin to skin for the bond to form. You can meet your soulmate but if you never touch skin to skin then you will never bond.

***

Lance was sweating and his arms were starting to shake with fatigue from holding his weapon. He knew that Keith couldn’t be faring much better, but they were fighting back to back and he couldn’t spare a moment to look behind him. 

_ What the Hell. I thought this was supposed to be an easy mission. Wasn’t this base supposed to be empty?  _

Despite his fatigue, Lance kept firing until the last droid fell. Only then did he turn to check on Keith. 

Lance, smiling, asked, “How are you doing, buddy?”

Keith, turning to look at Lance, replied, “Good, I’m good.”

Lance was catching his breath, looking Keith over to make sure he wasn’t hurt, when he saw Keith’s eyes open wide. Before he could turn and look behind him, he felt Keith harshly shove him. He stumbled and almost fell but just managed to stay on his feet. 

Lance said, “What the Hell, man?”

After regaining his footing, he turned to look at Keith just in time to see him fall from the impact of the shot that he took for Lance. Lance turned and quickly shot the droid that had snuck upon them. 

He then ran to Keith’s side “No, no, no. Why did you do that?”

He knelt beside Keith, his hands hovering over the grievous wound as he watched the blood flow from Keith’s body. 

Keith, trying to get up, said, “It’s fine. I’m okay.”

Lance, pushing Keith back down, said, “No, you’re not. Stay still. I’m getting help.”

Keith nodded. Lance turned on his comm, and then pressed his hands over the abdominal wound to staunch the bleeding. Keith winced in pain. 

Lance cried, “Help! I need some help. Keith has been hit and it's bad.”

Shiro asked, “How bad?”

Lance, panicking, said, “He is bleeding a lot. I don’t. . . It’s really bad, Shiro. What if . . .?”

“Calm down. Take a deep breath. You’ll be no help to him if you panic. We are on the other side of the compound. It would take too long for one of us to get there. Can you get him to your lion?”

Lance took a deep breath. “Maybe. I can try.”

“Good. Get him to your lion and back to the castle. We’ll meet you there as soon as we are done here.”

“Okay.”

Lance looked down at Keith. “I’m going to have to carry you to my lion. It’s gonna hurt. I’m sorry.”

Keith slurred, “It’s okay.”

Keith put his arms around Lance’s neck as he picked Keith up in a princess carry. Lance couldn’t contain the blush that crept its way across his face. He stared down at Keith. 

_ I never thought. . . He’s close. So close.  _

Lance shook his head. 

_ Now is not the time to be thinking things like that.  _

Keith asked, “You okay? Am I too heavy?”

Lance scoffed, “Too heavy for the best paladin in Voltron? Nah. You’re light as a feather.”

Keith laughed and then groaned as Lance started making his way back to the blue lion. Lance tried to jostle Keith as little as possible, but he could still hear the quiet sounds of pain that Keith made. He could also feel the blood dripping down the front of his armor. Lance readjusted his hold and Keith moaned as the movement sent waves of pain through his body. 

Lance whispered. “Sorry.” as he made his way further down the corridors. 

The further that Lance walked the heavier Keith seemed to get. Lance’s arms and back were screaming in protest. 

Lance, under his breath, said, “Damn it, Keith. Why are you so heavy and how did we get so far away from the lions?”

When Keith didn’t respond, Lance looked down to see that Keith had passed out.

_ That’s probably for the best. At least he can escape the pain for now.  _

Sweat was running down Lance’s face and his arms were about to give out by the time that the blue lion came into view. As Lance neared the lion, it opened its mouth to allow him and his precious cargo entrance. He laid Keith gently on the floor of the lion and went to the control panel. 

He said (to blue), “Can you get us back, girl? I need to take care of Keith.”

He felt blue’s comforting presence in the back of his mind and the lion began to move on its own to get back to the castle. Lance grabbed the first aid kit that they all carried in their lions. He was suddenly very grateful for the first aid training that Shiro had made them all sit through. He took off his bloody armor gloves and opened the first aid kit. 

As he pulled out bandages, he said (into his comm), “I made it back to my lion. I am heading back to the castle.”

Shiro replied, “Affirmative. See you there.”

Lance said, “Allura, I am headed back to the castle with Keith. He’s hurt, we will need to get him in a pod as soon as I land.”

Allura replied, “Coran and I will be ready for you. We are preparing the pod now.”

Lance said, “Good. We should be there soon.”

Lance reached up and turned off his comm so he could concentrate on Keith. He moved towards Keith and applied pressure to the wounds with the bandage that he had. It slowed the blood flow a little but didn’t stop it. The bandage was becoming saturated with blood and Lance could see that Keith was fading fast. 

_ Oh, God. He’s not going to make it. And it’s all my fault. Why? Keith? Why? I’m not worth it. You should have let me take the hit.  _

Keith had become even paler than normal and his breathing was becoming shallow. 

Lance said, “Hang in there, Keith. We are going to get you back to the castle and you are going to be okay. The pod is going to fix you right up. I’m not going to let you die on me like this.”

Keith groaned unconsciously as Lance applied more pressure to the wound. He wrapped up the wound with more bandages to help staunch the flow.

_ Just a few more minutes, we are almost there.  _

Keith’s face had a pained expression as if he could feel his wound even in unconsciousness. Lance, ever the comforter, unthinkingly cupped Keith’s face with his hand and ran his thumb down his jaw seeking to ease the stress in his face. And for the first time, Lance was in skin to skin contact with Keith. 

Lance said, “We’ve got. . . argh.”

He felt a shot of lighting go through his arm and flow through his body. 

_ What the. . . was that? _

Keith must have felt it too because for a second he opened his eyes and said, “Lance. . .?” 

Before Lance could say anything, he passed back out. Lance removed his hand from Keith’s face only to have pain wrack his body. Keith’s body shook and he whimpered in pain. 

_ No. It can’t be. Not like this. What have I done? We’ve been so careful in training. I never thought. . . What in the Hell do we do now? _

He grabbed Keith’s hand and the agony stopped. Lance quickly used his other hand to rip off the armor on his forearm and pull back his undersuit. He stared at the tattoo that had always been black and white. It was a lion and now that lion was a brilliant, vibrant red. He reached over and removed Keith’s forearm armor and rolled back his undersuit as well. He saw the same red lion displayed on Keith’s arm. He stared in disbelief, not daring to believe what he was seeing. 

Joy cascaded through his mind as he thought  _ Keith is my soulmate? Oh My God, I found my soulmate. I can’t wait to tell Hunk. He’ll be so surprised. I’ve wanted to meet my soulmate for so long. I can’t believe he was right here all this time. I’m glad it’s Keith. He’s everything I would want in a soulmate. I’ve had feelings for him for so long, but didn’t say anything because people don’t usually date until they find their soulmate.  _

And then the dread crept upon him.

_ What if he doesn’t want me? I am not sure that he even likes me. What if he dies? I’ll die too.  _

He continued to hold Keith’s hand as he watched him fight for his life. 

_ I’ve done everything that I can. All I can do now is hope that he makes it long enough for us to get to the castle.  _

Lance watched as Keith got worse and worse. 

_ He's lost so much blood. He’s not going to make it. We’re going to die.  _ Lance could feel the tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. They flowed down his cheeks cutting through the grime and blood on his face. 

Lance said, “Come on, Keith. Fight. I know you have it in you. You are too damn stubborn to die like this. You have to make it. I need you.”

Lance closed his eyes as a wave of fatigue rolled through his body. 

_ I knew I was tired but I didn’t think it was this bad. It feels like something is draining away all my energy.  _

Suddenly, Lance couldn’t fight the fatigue any longer and he found himself slumping to the floor of his lion. He was still holding on to Keith’s hand like it was his only lifeline. The blue lion returned safely to the castle but no one exited the lion when she landed in the hanger. 

Allura asked, “Why isn’t Lance leaving his lion? He wasn’t hurt was he?”

Coran just shrugged. “I don't think so. It sounded like Keith needed help quickly so I don’t understand why he is staying in his lion. Maybe we should check on him?”

Allura nodded. Just then the black lion arrived at the castle. Shiro scrambled out of his lion with Adam close behind him. They hurried to the blue lion’s hanger to see about Keith. They saw Allura and Coran approaching blue. 

Shiro asked, “Have they come out yet?”

Allura shook her head no. Shiro ran past her to the blue lion who opened up and allowed Shiro to enter. 

Shiro said, “Thanks, blue.”

He ran into the cockpit.

Shiro started, “Lance. What’s going on? Why. . .”

Shiro stared at the scene in front of him. Lance was passed out next to Keith. They were grasping each other’s hand as if their life depended on it.

_ What the Hell.  _

Shiro called, “Adam, I’m going to need some help.”

He heard Adam enter the lion. Shiro moved to pick up Keith.

_ He’s dying. We need to get him in a pod, now! _

Adam said, “What’s going on?”

Adam looked down at the boys and frowned. “I didn’t think Lance was hurt.”

Shiro replied. “Me either. But something clearly happened. Can you carry Lance to the medbay? I need to get Keith there now. He’s barely hanging on.”

Shiro picked up Keith and his hand fell away from Lance’s. Keith began to convulse in pain. Lance moaned and his hand moved towards where Keith’s had been.

Shiro said, “What the. . .”

Adam, finally catching sight of Lance’s bare arm, exclaimed, “Oh God, Shiro. They bonded.”

“What?”

“Look at their arms. Their tattoos match and are colored. They bonded. It’s probably the only thing keeping Keith alive. But if we don’t move fast we’re going to lose both of them.”

Shiro said softly, “What did you two do?”

Adam picked up Lance and they reconnected the two boys' hands. Lance stopped moving and Keith’s convulsions ceased. Adam and Shiro hurried out of the lion. 

Once they were in the hanger, Allura asked, “What’s wrong with Lance? I didn’t think he was injured in the fight.”

Shiro quickly walked past Allura towards the medbay without answering her. Adam, Coran, and Allura followed him out of the hanger. 

Shiro asked, “Is there any way to fit two people into one pod?”

Allura, confused, said, “We don’t need to do that, there are plenty of pods.”

Shiro asked, “Is there?”

Coran replied, “It’s possible, my boy. Two will fit in the pod but I don’t know if the healing will go as well. Why do you ask?”

Adam said, “They bonded.”

Coran asked, “What does that mean, exactly? I know you and Adam are bonded and are required to be near one another, but surely the two pods are close enough?”

Adam sighed. “It would be if they were done bonding.”

Allura asked, “What do you mean done bonding?”

Shiro ground his teeth in frustration. “When a bond like ours is first initialized you have to stay in skin to skin contact with each other for 24 hours. If you get separated, then both of the bonded experience extreme pain.”

Adam added, “And somehow these two fools bonded on the way back to the castle. So they need to stay in contact with each other while Keith heals.”

Allura asked, “Just for 24 of your hours?”

Adam replied, “It would be only 24 hours if they were conscious. The bond can’t proceed if either one of the bonded is unconscious. They can be asleep and the bond will form fine, just not when one of them is passed out.”

Coran said, “Oh. This is quite the mess indeed. We can try putting them in one pod and see what happens. I can’t make any guarantees about the outcome.”

Adam said, “It seems like the best option.”

When they arrived at the medbay, they stripped them of their armor and quickly put them in pod suits. They cut away the chest of Lance’s suit and the back of Keith’s in order to give the boys more contact. Adam carefully put Lance into the pod and Shiro laid Keith on top of him. As the pod closed, they could see Lance unconsciously wrap his arms around Keith. He grabbed Keith’s hand, linking their fingers together. Coran looked at the screen that showed both of the boys' vital signs. 

Coran said, “They were both still alive when the pod closed. Although Keith’s vitals are pretty weak. He almost didn’t make it.”

Adam said, “Bonding to Lance saved his life. He wouldn’t have made it to the pod otherwise.”

Shiro sighed. “But it may kill them both.”

Adam asked, “How long will it take to heal them?”

Coran replied, “I don’t know, my boy. We will just have to wait and see. It may not work at all. The pods were designed to heal one life form at a time.”

Shiro slumped to the ground in front of the pod with his head in his hands. “What are we going to do if they don’t make it?”

Adam replied, “They’ll be fine. Have a little faith, Takashi.”

Shiro, looking up at Adam, asked, “But. . . “

They were interrupted by Pidge and Hunk entering the medbay.

Hunk asked, “Why is Lance in the pod with Keith? I thought he wasn’t hurt.”

Allura said, “Evidently, they bonded.”

Hunk gasped and looked at the pair in the pod. “They’re soulmates?”

Adam said, “Yes.”

Pidge said, “But that means if Keith doesn’t make it, neither does Lance.”

Adam nodded and then looked at the paladins. Hunk looked like he was about to cry, Pidge looked concerned, and Shiro looked like he was about to collapse. 

Adam suggested, “It’s been a long day. We should clean up, eat, and get some sleep.”

Shiro said, “We can’t leave them here alone.”

Adam put a comforting hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “We can’t do anything but wait. We need to take care of ourselves too.”

Coran offered, “I’ll stay with them while the rest of you get some rest.”

Shiro nodded. Adam helped Shiro to his feet and they led the paladins out of the medbay towards their rooms and rest.

Once the paladins had left, Allura, looking at the pod with two of her paladins inside, asked, “Do you think they will be okay?”

Coran frowned. “I don’t know, Princess. I really don’t know.”


	2. Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed that we have an extra person in the castle. This story takes place in an AU that is close to the canon universe. But in this universe, Adam was with the cadets when they saved Shiro. Therefore, he goes to space with them. Adam and Shiro are soulmates and have bonded since Shiro's rescue (might write the story at a later date). Also, everyone but Pidge is at least 18 when this story starts.

One Week Later

Hunk walked into the medbay area carrying a small piece of machinery. He looked at Pidge who was sitting in front of the pod working on her computer. 

Hunk asked, “Any change?”

Pidge replied, “Nope.”

“They’ve been in there a long time. Do you think they’ll be okay?”

“I don’t know, Hunk. Coran seems to get less and less hopeful every time he comes in here to check on them. He seems to think that they should have been healed by now.”

Hunk, looking sad, said, “Oh. Well. . . uh. It’s my turn to be on pod watch. You can go get something to eat if you want.”

Pidge nodded, packed up her laptop, and left the medbay leaving Hunk alone with his thoughts. Hunk’s eyes drifted to the pod and the two paladins resting serenely within. 

Hunk thought _What if they don’t make it? How am I going to make it without my best friend? Why did he have to go and bond to Keith when he was dying? We can’t lose two paladins!_

Hunk sat down on the steps in front of the pods.

He looked down at the piece of machinery in his hands. He sighed and began to tinker with it as he waited for his friends to be released from the pod. After a while, Hunk heard a noise which caused him to look up from his tinkering. He could see the pod opening up to release Keith and Lance. 

_They’re okay!_

He stood up in time to catch Keith as he fell out of the pod. Unfortunately, that meant he couldn’t catch Lance who fell forward onto his knees in front of the pod. Falling out of the pod separated the two paladins, causing them to lose contact. Their bodies started to shake as waves of pain flowed through them, causing both boys to cry out.

Keith, catching his breath, asked, “What’s happening? What’s wrong with me?”

Lance cried, “Your hand. Give me your hand, Mullet.”

Keith asked, “Why?”

Lance gritted out, “Just do it.”

Lance scooted closer to Keith and Hunk as Hunk lowered Keith to the ground. Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and the pain stopped.

Keith turned and sat on the steps in front of the pods. “What the Hell was that?”

Hunk sat down beside Lance.

Lance began, “Well. . . you see. . .”

Hunk interrupted. “I’m really glad you guys are okay.” 

He hugged Lance, grateful that his friend was alive. Lance leaned into his friend’s embrace. Hunk continued, “We were all really worried. We weren’t sure you were going to make it. Keith, you. . . you almost died. Shiro’s been frantic. I should go and tell everyone else that you are awake. They’ll want to know. We’ve been taking turns watching over you two since we put you in the pod.”

Keith asked, “How long?”

Hunk replied, “Hmmm?”

Keith asked, “How long were we in the pod?”

Hunk replied, “A week. You were in there a week and we were beginning to think you’d never wake up.”

Stunned, Keith and Lance looked at each other.

Lance said softly, “A week?”

Keith, still confused, asked, “Why were we in the pod together? I didn’t think Lance was hurt.”

Hunk replied, “I think that’s Lance’s story to tell. I am going to tell everyone else that you are awake.” He stood up from the stairs and walked out of the medbay. Lance looked a little lost as he watched his best friend leave. Keith stared at Lance in silence for a moment. Then Lance scooted even closer to Keith leaning against his side. 

Keith sighed. “So, what happened? What did you do? You were fine before I passed out. Why were you in the pod? And why were we in the pod together?”

Lance looked away from Keith. “Nothing happened. I wasn’t hurt or anything.”

Keith grabbed Lance’s chin and turned his head. “Then why were you in the pod?”

“We bonded, Keith. We had to stay in contact or we both would have been in extreme pain. I guess someone realized what happened and put us in the pod together. I passed out before we got back to the castle.”

“You were. . . why? And what do you mean bonded? Do you mean like soulmates?”

Keith looked at his left wrist and could see that his tattoo was colored in. 

Keith thought _we can’t be soulmates, that would just be. . ._

Lance nodded. “We are soulmates, Keith.”

Keith sputtered, “How? Why? This can’t be real.”

_Lance is my soulmate? No, it can’t be. I. . ._

Lance frowned. “I know you don’t want a soulmate. You’ve made that clear enough and you especially don’t want me. But we have no choice but to finish the bonding. I’m sorry.”

“No. Wait. . . I”

“It’s okay, Mullet. I get it. I’ll make this as easy on you as possible. We are going to have to be in contact with each other for the bonding. I know you’re not very comfortable with being touched but just bear with it until the bonding is done.”

Keith sighed. “I. . . Lance. . .”

Keith was interrupted by the arrival of Shiro and everyone else.

Shiro walked up to Keith and enveloped him in a hug. “I’m so glad you are alright. I thought. . . that we were going to lose you.”

Keith said, “Well, I’m okay now.”

Shiro said, “You need to be more careful, Keith. You almost died. In fact, if you hadn’t bonded to Lance. . .”

Keith paled. Shiro released him from the hug. Keith looked at Lance. “You could have died too.”

Lance, using his free hand, rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah.”

Lance thought _so worth the risk._

Keith said, “No. It wasn’t.”

Lance frowned and thought _did I say that out loud?_

Adam, ignoring Keith’s weird outburst, asked, “What happened? I mean, how did you end up bonding?”

Keith said, “I don’t know. I was passed out.”

_Just another normal thing I fucked up._

Lance whispered, “You didn’t fuck it up. It was my fault.”

Keith said, “What? I didn’t say anything.”

Lance said, “You did. I heard you.”

Keith thought _He’s answering my thoughts. What’s going on here?_

Hunk, oblivious to Keith and Lance’s conversation, said, “That’s rough man, not remembering how you bonded. It’s one of the most important events of your life.”

Allura, surprised, asked, “Is it that important?”

Adam nodded. “Yes, soulmates and bonding are discussed often in our society. For many people, having a good soulmate bonding story is important. So, Lance. How?”

Lance, turning away from his and Keith’s conversation, replied, “Well, . . . uh . . . it was an accident. I took off my gloves to bind his wound and accidentally touched him.”

_There is no way I am going to tell them I caressed his face and caused it._

Keith’s eyes went wide and looked at Lance with a startled expression on his face. 

_I think I am hearing Lance’s thoughts. What’s the actual fuck is going on? Even I know bonding doesn’t work like this._

Lance, who was focused on Adam, didn’t catch Keith’s expression but Shiro did. 

Shiro thought _something else is going on here. Something besides their bonding._

Pidge’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you were more careful than that.”

Lance said, “I was stressed, okay? Keith was dying. I was freaking out.”

Pidge, not buying it, said, “Hmm.”

Shiro said, “Alright, guys. It doesn’t matter how it happened. It happened. It saved Keith’s life. I, for one, am grateful it happened. I’d rather have Keith here and bonded versus the other option.”

Lance nodded.

_I’m so glad he is safe. I don’t know what I would have done if he didn’t make it._

Keith blushed.

Lance, noticing the reaction, asked, “Are you okay?” 

Keith replied. “I’m fine. Just tired. This is a lot to take in, you know?”

Allura said, “We should let you rest. It can be tough on the body to be in the pod that long.”

Adam said, “And you need to finish your bond.”

Keith, confused, asked, “Shouldn’t that be done by now?”

Adam replied, “You can’t bond while unconscious. No one has ever figured out why.”

Keith frowned. “Oh. Can we go rest now and figure the rest of this bonding stuff out?”

Shiro asked, “Of course. Do you need any help getting to your rooms?”

Lance replied, “Nah, we’re fine. I think we can stumble to our rooms ourselves.”

Shiro nodded but watched with concern as the two boys stumbled out of the medbay, and towards the paladin living quarters.

Adam put a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “They probably just want to be alone so they can process all of this. They’ve been through a lot.”

Shiro, looking at Adam, sighed. “I know. It’s just . . .”

Adam said, “They’ll be alright. They’re soulmates for a reason.”

***

Lance and Keith made their way towards their rooms. 

Lance asked, “Which room?”

Keith replied, “Huh?”

“We can’t separate, so we are going to have to stay together in one room. Do you want to stay in yours or come to mine?”

“Oh. It doesn’t matter.”

“Let’s stay in mine, then. We’ll stop off at yours to get you some clothes so we can change out of the pod suits.”

Keith nodded. When they reached Keith’s room, he quickly grabbed a change of clothes from the dresser. He also snagged his jacket out of the closet.

Lance asked, “Do you want your pillow? We will probably do a lot of sleeping in the next 24 hours.”

Keith furrowed his brow. “Why?”

“From what I remember it takes a lot of energy to bond, plus we are weakened from being in the pod for a week.”

“Oh. Makes sense.”

Keith handed Lance his clothes and grabbed a pillow and blanket off the bed. He also grabbed his knife.

_Shiro must have put it in my room after I went in the pod._

Lance asked, “Got everything?”

Keith nodded. They left Keith’s room and moved just down the hall to Lance’s room. When they entered Lance’s room, Keith looked around at all the knick-knacks that Lance had displayed. 

_Did he pick up something from everywhere we’ve been?_

Lance said, “Pretty much.”

Keith turned to look at Lance. They stared at each other in silence for a moment. 

Finally, Lance sighed. “I can’t believe this happened. I am so sorry. I’d take it back if I could. I know you don’t want this. . .”

Keith thought _I wouldn’t._

Lance looked at him in surprise. 

Keith replied, “I mean it’s okay. You saved my life. Bonding to you is way better than being dead.”

“Thanks? I’m just. . . we are going to need to talk about all this soon.”

Keith thought _yeah, especially this mind-link or whatever it is. How do I even bring that up? Oh yeah, by the way, I can hear your thoughts?_

Keith said, “I know. But maybe we could get out of these pod suits first?”

Lance thought _I am starting to feel. . . I don’t know. Antsy? I know that means we need more skin contact. How in the Hell do I ask him to stay stripped down and not sound like I am coming onto him? I mean not that I would mind doing that with him. Oh, God. This is so awkward._

Lance looked away from Keith, too embarrassed to look him in the eye. Keith blushed. 

_He wants to, with me?_

Keith cleared his throat. “Let’s get changed. These suits are a little tight.”

Lance nodded and set down Keith’s clothes on his desk. He watched as Keith tossed his pillow and blanket on the bed and gently set his knife down on the desk. 

Lance asked, “What’d you bring that for? You know it’s not likely that we’ll be attacked in our rooms.”

Keith, looking at the knife, replied, “I just. . . always have it with me, you know? Plus it never hurts to be prepared.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Okay.”

Keith rolled his eyes as he fished out his underwear from his pile of clothes, leaving the rest on the desk. 

Lance asked, “What about the rest?”

Keith looked at Lance. “Don’t we need a lot of skin to skin contact. Isn’t that important for bonding? I thought we should just change into underwear to leave more skin exposed?”

Lance thought _It’s like he’s reading my mind._

He replied, “Contact is important, but are you sure you are okay with that much contact. I mean I know. . . you’re not one for casual touching.”

“This isn’t exactly casual, now is it.”

Lance blushed. _That sounded dirtier than he meant it._

Keith blushed harder. The redness extending from his face down his neck. 

_Goddamn it. I didn’t mean it like that. I mean . . . I would like to. . . why is he so fucking attractive?_

Lance chuckled. “As long as you are okay with it.”

“So how are we going to do this? We need to stay in contact with each other, right?”

“Right, we are going to have to do this one at a time and help each other.”

“Right.”

Keith thought _this so fucking embarrassing._

Lance blushed. “I can go first if you want.”

Keith nodded. They shuffled over to Lance’s dresser so he could grab some underwear. Once he had the article of clothing, Lance moved so that his back was turned in front of Keith.

Lance asked, “Can you unzip me?”

Keith kept one hand in Lance’s hand and used his free hand to unzip the back of the pod suit. Resisting the urge to run his hand down the exposed skin, he pushed the suit off of Lance’s shoulders. Keith put his free hand on Lance's shoulder near his neck. He released their clasped hands so that Lance would have his arms free to get out of the pod suit. Lance shivered at the touch. It sent a wave of warmth through Lance’s body. 

Lance thought _now is not the time to get turned on. Why does he have to be so Goddamn sexy?_

Keith, blushing, thought _he really wants me . . . like that?_

Lance whispered, “Yes.” as he reached up and touched Keith’s hand for a moment. 

Keith’s breath hitched at the touch. Lance removed his hand and then struggled to get his arms free of the tight suit. Once his arms were free, Lance pushed the suit down his body. Keith moved with him as he bent to step out of the suit.

Keith thought _Oh my God he’s naked. . . I can’t. . . don’t look. Don’t fucking look. Keep your eyes on his back._

Keith couldn’t keep his eyes from traveling downward, catching a glimpse of Lance before he covered himself with his boxers. 

Lance, still blushing, said, “Alright, Mullet. It’s your turn.”

Keith nodded as he slid his hand down Lance’s shoulder and arm to clasp his hand again. Lance barely held in a moan at the caress. Keith moved so that he was in front of Lance. Without prompting, Lance unzipped Keith’s pod suit. He put his hand on the back of Keith’s neck, barely resisting the urge to run his fingers through Keith's long hair. Keith felt his body heat up at the intimate touch. Lance moved closer to Keith so that there was barely any room between them. 

_I want. . . please. . . touch me._

Keith nearly came undone at the closeness of their bodies. He did his best to ignore it so he could finish getting changed. Stripping himself of the suit, he could feel Lance’s eyes on him as he pulled his boxers into place. 

Keith turned around to look at Lance. “Could you?”

Lance took a step back. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s just that. . .”

Keith thought _I want to touch you so badly. You being so close doesn’t help whatever this is. Forget the Galra, you’re going to be the death of me._

Lance whispered, “You have no idea.”

_Wait, did he say that out loud? What’s going on?_

Keith rolled his eyes. _Looks like you are finally figuring it out, sharpshooter._

Lance thought _figured what out?_

Keith said, “That we can hear each other’s thoughts.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. I have a [tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/auronevardell) page if you want to drop by and say hello or discuss some Klance goodness.


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